U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, Center for International Research,U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, Center for International Research

The \i;i:i-e world labor force is expected to grow from 2.4 billion
persons in 1990 to 3.2 billion in 2010 a 35 percent increase, but
this growth will occur disproportionately in the developing countries.
Estimates and projections of the economically active population for
developed and developing countries are shown in the figure below.
This figure excludes many women, workers in subsistence agriculture,
and otrirs in the informal sector. If the invisible workers were included,
the contrast between developed and developing countries probably
would be even greater.

The labor force will grow very little in developed countries. The main
change is that the labor force will become older as fewer young women
and men enter. As a result some countries may experience labor
shortages.
The numbers of women and men in the labor force of developing countries
will grow rapidly doubling in countries with rapid rates of population
increase. This increase is concentrated in the prime working ages. Unless
the economies of these countries also grow rapidly, it is clin:uii to imagine
how jobs can be created for many new potential workers.

The term "economically active population" suggests a sharp distinction
between those who are in the labor force and those who are inactive.
In fact the cli -iirni:r. : is not so clear. Women in particular tend to be
omitted from the count of the economically active.

i] tI;e de '/,:,l'Icnpi
countr'r a a 'iie.
rural women account for
at least 50 percent ol food
production

A-

Most censuses and surveys use a key word questionnaire to
determine whether or not a respondent is ecl:.:-ri:r-: .ll;.1I active. Often
the only question asked is about the main activity. If the enumerator
determines that a woman's main activity is "housework", there is a
tendency to probe no further.

In a 1988 study in rural India, Anker, Khan, and Gupta asked the
-,ll:'..ir-g sequence of questions and obtained increasing estimates
of women's activity:

Percent
economically
active

Question asked:

What was your main activity?

What was your next most important activity?

Did you work for earnings in the last 12 months?

Did you do something else for which the family
earned income?

Subsistence-type and other important activity
in terms of time?

15.7

41.2

47.6

55.3

93.0

The Aged: Labor Force Participation

Both elderly women and elderly men are more likely to be
economically active in low-income countries.

Labor Force Participation of the Aged: 1980
(Percent of population age 65 and over)

Men

SEconomically active
1 Economically inactive

Women

Developed
Countries

51.3

Developing
Countries

68.6

$4501 or more

$411 to $4500

$0 to $410

GNP/capita

Source: Clark, Robert L. and Richard Anker, 1990.

Labor force participation of the aged also declines with the growth of
employment in the urban-industrial sector and with the introduction and
expansion of social security. The labor force participation of elderly
workers often is under-reported because they tend to be part-time,

secondary workers. However, since one would expect more complete
reporting in higher-income countries, eliminating this bias would tend to
strengthen these relationships.

Worldwide, women are paid less than men
(with the s rir iring exception of Paraguay),
but the cdti-erernce is somewhat less in the
developed countries.

Four countries in this table show relative
wages of women and men for skilled and
un.-i iil:.d (or salaried and wage earning)
workers separately. For these countries,
the wage gap is greater for more skilled
(or salaried) than for less skilled workers.

More detailed study of the relative wages
of women and men reveals great
variations within countries between
industries. In industries that employ a
high percentage of women (for example,
wearing apparel) women tend to be paid
less than men. Moreover, in these
female-dominated industries, both men
and women are paid less than in the
male-dominated industries.

The explanations for -i ee findings
are as follows:

* women lack access to high-paying
jobs, such as managerial and
supervisory positions, and that

* women receive lower pay for
comparable jobs. P-irrern-; in the pay
differentials between women and men
vary from country to country and
change over time.

This wall chart presents data and key findings from the forthcoming Gender and Generation in the
World's Labor Force to be published by the Office of Women in Development of the U.S. Agency for
International Development (AID). Direct all requests for that report to the Document Distribution Unit,
AID Development Information Services Clearinghouse, 1500 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1010, Arlington,
VA 22209-2404.

Most of the data for this wall chart are taken from the six volume International Labour Office (ILO)
publication, Economically Active Population, Estimates and Projections: 1950-2025. We are grateful
to Mr. Farhad Mehran, Chief Statistician of ILO's Bureau of Statistics, for his permission to reprint
selected data. Copies of the ILO publication are available from ILO Publications, International
Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or ILO publication centers and major booksellers
in many countries.

Please note that the ILO estimates and projections are based on the 1980 round of censuses and
surveys conducted in the early 1980's. By the end of 1994, we propose to publish a revised wall
chart with new ILO estimates and projections.

This wall chart was prepared under a Participating Agency Service Agreement funded by the
Office of Women in Development, U.S. Agency for International Development.

- ~----

The Generations: Differences in Economic Activity

In developing countries,
older workers are heavily
concentrated in agricultural
jobs, while newer entrants
to the labor force are
shifting out of farming
into jobs in industry and
services. While this
generational shift is strong
for both sexes, women lag
behind men in the transition
out of agriculture, as -i-e
figure for Turkey in 1985
shows. Do the data for
Canada in 1986 predict the
future for countries going
through a "labor force
transition" as they
industrialize? We see
small differences between
older workers and those
in the prime working ages
for both women and men.
Canadian women are found
more in services and less
in industry than are
Canadian men.

Some of the following books and articles were used as sources for
this wall chart. Others provide additional information on topics related to
various aspects of gender and generation in the world's labor force.

General Information and Data Sources
International Labour Office. 1991. Yearbook of Labour Statistics 1991.
Geneva.
1986 and 1990. Economically Active Population, Estimates and
Projections: 1950-2025 (six volumes). Geneva.
Nuss, Shirley. 1989. Women in the World of Work: Statistical Analysis
and Projections to the Year 2000 (Women, Work and Development No. 18),
International Labour Office. Geneva.
United Nations. 1991 a. The Sex and Age Distributions of Population.
The 1990 Revision of the United Nations Global Population Estimates
and Projections. New York.
.. 1991 b. The World's Women: 1970-1990, Trends and Statistics.
New York.
1990. Demographic Yearbook 1988. New York.
U.S. Agency for International Development. Forthcoming. Gender and
Generation in the World's Labor Force: Improving Employment Data for
Development Planning, Office of Women in Development, AID.
Washington, DC.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1991a. Money Income of Households, Families
and Persons in the United States: 1991. Current Population Reports,
Consumer Income P-60, No. 180. Washington, DC.
1991b. World Population Profile: 1991, by Ellen Jamison.
Washington, DC.

Measuring the Economically Active Population
Anker, Richard, M.E. Kahn, and R.B. Gupta. 1988. Women's Participation
in the Labor Force: A Methods Test in India for Improving Its Measurement
(Women, Work and Development No. 16), International Labour Office.
Geneva.
Anker, Richard. 1983. "Female labor force participation in developing
countries: a critique of current definitions and data collection methods."
International Labour Review, 122, 6.

Occupational Change Between Generations of Workers
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1988. Aging in the Third World, by Kevin Kinsella.
International Population Reports P-95, No. 79. Washington, DC.
1987. An Aging World, by Barbara Boyle Torrey, Kevin Kinsella,
and Cynthia Taeuber. International Population Reports P-95, No.78.
Washington, DC.

The term "economically active population" suggests a sharp distinction
between those who are in the labor force and those who are inactive.
In fact the distinction is not so clear. Women in particular tend to be
omitted from the count of the economically active.

Women's Work is not Recognized

National statistics for the economically active Lji-iiill'
omit women's work in the subsistence sector yet:

In Bangladesh,
90 percent of the female
population is engaged in
agriculture
In Africa,
60 to 80 percent of all
agricultural work is done
by women
In the developing
COLIntnr Ole.
r"- ..men account for
ad leasi 50 percent ol food
production

The Aged: Labor Force Participation

Developed
Countries

Developing
Countries

Labor force participation of the aged also declines with the growth of
employment in the urban-industrial sector and with the introduction and
expansion of social security. The labor force participation of elderly
workers often is under-reported because they tend to be part-time,

The Generations: Differences in Economic Activity

In developing countries,
older workers are heavily
concentrated in agricultural
jobs, while newer entrants
to the labor force are
shifting out of farming
into jobs in industry and
services. While this
generational shift is strong
for both sexes, women lag
behind men in the transition
out of agriculture, as the
figure for Turkey in 1985
shows. Do the data for
Canada in 1986 predict the
future for countries going
through a "labor force
transition" as they
industrialize? We see
small differences between
older workers and those
in the prime working ages
for both women and men.
Canadian women are found
more in services and less
in industry than are
Canadian men.